Printmaking is a process that allows the artist to create multiples of the same image. The main distinction between commercially produced prints and fine art prints is in how they are made. Commercially produced prints, such as posters, are made by copying a pre-made image onto a plate for printing and are not generally considered original works of art. In fine art printmaking, a master plate is created by the artist from which multiple images are made. Each image is an original work of art, as slight variations in colour tone and placement are noticeable.

Fine art printmaking is a broad term for a variety of printing methods or techniques. These techniques include: relief printmaking, intaglio, planography or lithography, stencil or silk screening, and monoprints or monotypes. For each process, the artist chooses a surface to be the master plate. This could be linoleum, metal, cardboard, stone, or any other number of materials. The artist then carves, cuts, etches, draws or paints an image onto the plate. Once the image is ready, ink is applied onto the plate and paper is pressed onto the plate. The paper is pressed by hand or by a printing press to push the ink onto the paper and the finished print is pulled from the plate.

Often the first few prints are different from the rest of the print edition. These first prints are called artist’s proofs, because often the artist will make adjustments to the plate or inking process during these first initial trial prints. Once a certain number of prints are made from a plate, the plate is often destroyed so that more prints won’t be made and the value of the edition is ensured.

At the bottom of a print there are two or three things always written in pencil. On the left is a number that appears as a fraction (i.e. 6/50), this means that the print is number six in a total of fifty prints pulled from one plate. This number does not include the artist’s proofs, which would have “artist’s proof” or “A/P” written on the left instead of a number. In the centre of the print is the title (if any), and at the bottom right of the print is the artist’s name and date.